Talk to Get Ahead
One of the more valuable professional skills that students can develop is the ability to carry on a conversation. I am surrounded by college students who shy away from face-to-face interaction or, worse yet, a phone call. Today’s students grew up in a world where most of their communicating could be accomplished via email, text, and social media, and answers to questions did not exist if they could not be found with a quick internet search. I promise not to turn this into an old-man rant about cell phones destroying society, because I do not believe that to be true. I simply want to encourage students to consider the impact that simple, thoughtful conversations can have on their careers and how communication skills and professional networks must be cultivated through daily interactions.
Most people seeking careers in the sport industry have been told that networking plays an important role in getting a job and moving up in the industry. Conversation and communication are the foundations of networking. A professional network of friends and associates will not magically appear if you do not invest time at work, outside work, at professional conferences, and elsewhere developing relationships through friendly conversation and communication. Seemingly trivial interactions throughout your day can lead to connections that could influence your career in meaningful ways, and your ability to communicate effectively in various settings can be improved through practice.
Most sport industry careers require extensive communication with colleagues, customers, superiors, subordinates, and others. If you send signals to those around you that you prefer not to talk to them – such as by choosing instead to interact with your phone, avoiding eye contact, offering limited responses to attempts at conversation, not smiling – you can quickly earn a label as antisocial or unapproachable, which can anchor your professional advancement. Like it or not, there is a social element to the sport industry, and those who advance quickly often have superior social and communication skills.
While I don’t believe mobile devices are the cause of stunted communication skills, they do make it easier for people to stay within themselves. For those college students who are more naturally introverted, cell phones and laptops enable them to avoid many daily interactions that could improve their communication skills and help them network along the way. Before they know it, four years of college have gone by, and they are suddenly faced with the need to have a network and be comfortable in face-to-face and phone interactions with prospective employers and colleagues. They may discover that their network and their communication skills are lacking and end up missing out on opportunities they could have had if they had prepared better when they had unlimited opportunities to do so during college.
My advice to college students is to take more opportunities on a daily basis to put down your phones, close your laptops, and ask questions to get people around you talking and engaged in conversation. Most conversations begin with a simple question to break the ice, and it focuses the attention on someone else so you can just chime in to keep the conversation going.
I teach students who ostensibly want to work in the sport industry, yet they arrive to class and stare at phones and laptops while waiting for me to begin lecturing, all the while ignoring future business colleagues seated around them. Some students barely speak to me unless I call on them in class despite the fact that I spent 15 years working in the sport industry and regularly have the opportunity to recommend students to sport employers that need qualified applicants. I even have students who apply for my Chicago Blackhawks practicum course, which receives 60-70 applications for 20 spots, yet they never attempt to have a conversation outside of class in an effort to network a little bit, stand out from the pack, and demonstrate that they are mature and prepared to handle the professional practicum environment.
If you want to get ahead in the sport industry, just start talking. Sport employer expectations are quite low because they are used to so many recent college graduates who avoid extended conversation. Young people who embrace the opportunity to converse with professionals and are competent when doing so stand out from their peers and have a much better chance of being recommended for jobs, internships, (my practicums!) and advancement in all areas of the sport industry.
My final piece of advice: Too much of a good thing will backfire on you. Be able to recognize social cues so you are not starting up conversations at inappropriate times or becoming a nuisance. Interrupting the CEO while she is busy so you can engage in small talk will not impress her. Maintain an appropriate level of friendly conversation that does not overwhelm those around you or distract from getting the job done.